1 of 1 copy available
We live in an age of extreme corporate concentration, in which global industries are controlled by just a few giant firms — big banks, big pharma, and big tech, just to name a few. But concern over what Louis Brandeis called the "curse of bigness" can no longer remain the province of specialist lawyers and economists, for it has spilled over into policy and politics, even threatening democracy itself. History suggests that tolerance of inequality and failing to control excessive corporate power may prompt the rise of populism, nationalism, extremist politicians, and fascist regimes. In short, as Wu warns, we are in grave danger of repeating the signature errors of the twentieth century.
In The Curse of Bigness, Columbia professor Tim Wu tells of how figures like Brandeis and Theodore Roosevelt first confronted the democratic threats posed by the great trusts of the Gilded Age—but the lessons of the Progressive Era were forgotten in the last 40 years. He calls for recovering the lost tenets of the trustbusting age as part of a broader revival of American progressive ideas as we confront the fallout of persistent and extreme economic inequality.
-
Creators
-
Series
-
Publisher
-
Release date
November 13, 2018 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781984843661
- File size: 121197 KB
- Duration: 04:12:29
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
Talented Marc Cashman offers a measured, authoritative narration of this well-researched treatise on the risks of extreme corporate concentration in our technological world. Tim Wu's concise arguments praise the advantages and benefits of smaller organizations and the broader spreading of revenue streams, along with its associated responsibilities, over many such organizations. Examples such as the breakup of "Ma Bell" are expertly explained. Cashman's appealing tone lightens the occasionally leaden subject matter of the roots of American antitrust law and policy. Significant insight is also provided on the Department of Justice's examination of Microsoft not very long ago, including commentary on the public interviews of its founder, Bill Gates. Wu advocates broader and more far-reaching standards for determining what is a business monopoly. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine -
September 24, 2018
In this short but persuasive book, Wu (The Attention Merchants), a Columbia law professor, connects the current political climate to a decline in antitrust enforcement. From the rise of U.S. Steel and Standard Oil through the “trust-busting” days of Teddy Roosevelt, Wu shows how antitrust laws, as championed by Louis Brandeis (who coined the term “the curse of bigness”), once functioned as a check on private power. In the modern era, however, enforcement has steadily declined; the George W. Bush administration did not bring a single antitrust action in eight years. The results, Wu argues, are a widening income gap and corporations subverting electoral politics. In the 20th century, he writes, “nations that failed to control private power and attend to the needs of their citizens faced the rise of strongmen who promised a more immediate deliverance from economic woes.” The book’s brevity is an asset—Wu skillfully avoids economic and legal rabbit holes, keeping the book laser-focused on his thesis: that antitrust enforcement must be restored “as a check on power as necessary in a functioning democracy before it’s too late.” Persuasive and brilliantly written, the book is especially timely given the rise of trillion-dollar tech companies.
-